Trans-Lux Theatre, 1937 Opened on May 16th, 1931, this was one of the city's first purpose-built "twin" cinemas. This second Trans-Lux theatre occupied the retail space of the new Lecourt (later Brill) Building. Its two small auditoriums each had its own box office and entrance, but they shared the wide marquee seen here. Opened during the Depression the twin theatres, which showed newsreels, shorts, and cartoons. The struggling venue limped along until 1937 when boxing champion Jack Dempsey and his business partner took over the space for a self-branded eatery. The Jack Dempsey’s Broadway Bar and Cocktail Lounge opened in 1937 and survived in the Brill Building until 1974. After vacating this space, Trans-Lux opened a much more successful, single-screen theatre at 1607 Broadway.

Bimbo, “the heroic pup,” was a cartoon star before he became the boyfriend of Betty Boop, who originally was drawn with long dog ears. When censorship became a part of the film industry, and as Betty Boop lost her canine features, Bimbo was replaced by a human male, “Fearless Fred.” Readers were instructed to cut out the successive images of Bimbo and practice animation themselves.

Astor Theatre, ca. 1905. Opened on September 21, 1906 with a production of “A Midsummer Nights Dream,” the Astor Theatre was considered a premier Broadway venue during the early 20th century. The corner building was striking, rendered in a mix of Neo-Classical and Second Empire styles and topped by a bronze-domed tower. Live performances continued until 1925 when the theatre was converted to a movie house. In 1955 the movie "East of Eden," starring James Dean premiered here. The ornate structure underwent a radical modernization in 1959, which created a plain boxy facade and gutted the interior of its gilded proscenium arch and boxes. In 1972 the movie house closed. Despite a valiant effort by preservationists to save the building and its adjacent theatres (the Victoria Theatre, the Helen Hayes Theatre, the Bijou Theatre and Morosco Theatre), the whole block was demolished in 1982 for the Marriott Marquis New York Hotel. That hotel did include a Broadway theatre in its design.

Times Square, ca. 1977.

New York City has long been considered the leading American center for arts and culture. The arts, especially theater, constitute one of New York’s primary economic forces. Throughout the 20th century, the LGBT community has had a significant and disproportionate impact on the Broadway stage, even as the New York Legislature-enacted Wales Padlock Law (1927-1967) made it illegal for theaters to show plays that featured gay and lesbian characters (though some productions managed to get around this restriction). This curated collection spotlights the Broadway Theater District and its associations with major LGBT performers and creators.

In 1835, artist and entrepreneur Jared Bell pioneered the large-format poster, which was rich with vivid colors to advertise a circus. By 1918, bold imagery and slogans calling attention to food, medicines, and entertainment filled New York's already saturated visual field.

1231 Sixth Avenue, ca. 1937. The crowd here on the west side of Sixth Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets stand in front of a number of employment agencies. These include the Claremont Agency at no. 1231, the Atlantic Hippodrome Employment Agency at no. 1233, and the Geneva Agency at no. 1235. Though undated, the scene belies the massive employment lines that crowded New York streets for much of the Depression. The 50th Street station of the Sixth Avenue Elevated line is seen in the background. Service on this line ceased in late 1938 and it was razed in 1939, dating this photo to sometime prior.

Martin Beck Theater ARCHITECT: C. Albert Lansburgh DATE: 1923-24 STYLE: Byzantine The Martin Beck Theater survives today as one of the historic theaters that symbolize American theater for both New York and the nation. It was designed for Martin Beck, one of America’s great vaudeville producers, by G. Albert Lansburgh, a prominent theater designer who considered it his finest work. Beck and Lansburgh created an unusual and exotic design based on Byzantine motifs, making the Beck architecturally unique among the Broadway theaters. Among its outstanding characteristics is its double-height stone-faced arcade with elaborately carved capitals. For over half a century the Martin Beck has served as home to countless numbers of the plays through which the Broadway theater has come to personify American theater. Its presence helps visually to define the Broadway theater district, the largest and most famous concentration of legitimate stage theaters in the world.

Alvin Theatre, September 1935. Built in 1927 as the Alvin Theatre, the Broadway house was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp for the developer and real estate mogul Alexander Pincus. The name Alvin was a portmanteau of the names of producers Alex Aarons and Vinton Freedley. The theatre opened with a premiere of George and Ira Gershwin's 'Funny Face' with Fred and Adele Astaire. Gershwin also had his best known musical 'Porgy and Bess' premiere here in 1935. The theatre was renamed for playwright Neil Simon in 1977, after the Nederlander Organization bought the building. In the 1980s the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated a number of Broadway Theatres, including this one (in 1985).

The West 47th Street Police Station was built in 1860. The station was nestled in Hell's Kitchen and in proximity to the Theater District, which meant the station was always busy. One rumor claims that after a risque play titled "Sex," actress and playwright Mae West was arrested and brought in to the station. The station was known as the 26th, 9th, 18th, and then 16th precinct, exchanging titles as Manhattan's landscape changed around it. In 1933, the station became the target of a lively protest. In summer months, children living in tenement apartments across the city sought relief from heatwaves by prying open fire hydrants. At the expense of instant relief, streets, gutters, and cellars were flooded. Soon the fire department claimed that so many hydrants left open might deplete their supply of water if an actual fire broke out. In response, the police closed every hydrant. Outraged a crowd of "400 youngsters, most of them clad in bathing suits and other scanty attire, staged a noisy demonstration outside the West 47th street station." The demonstration, which lasted less than an hour, was reported in the New York Times on June 10th, 1933. By the 1960s, the station, then known as Traffic Station D, was slated for demolition. After the building was razed, the city-owned plot was given to the FDNY as a potential site for developing a new firehouse, though it remained empty for a number of years. Seeking the empty lot as a space for community growth and development, a coalition of local activists, led by Ramon Aponte, garnered the support of a local developer to buy the plot for public use. Hell's Kitchen was riddled with crime from the 1970s through the 1980s, and Aponte recognized creating public spaces was key to reinstilling a sense of safety in the area. The land was turned into a park with a playground and was maintained by the 47th Street Block Association, Community Board #4, Fountain House, and the Green Guerillas for the decade after it was purchased by the community. The park was eventually made an official New York City Park and is named after Aponte.

The Albermarle, ca. 1975. Opened in 1903 as the Hotel Carlton, this Beaux Arts structure stood 11 stories and hosted some of the city's high society. Over the next few decades, the hotel saw numerous name changes, broken windows from no less than two underground explosions (1912 and 1913), and thousands of tenants, well-behaved and overwise. In the mid-1920s former actress and speakeasy proprietor Mary Louise Cecelia "Texas" Guinan opened Club Intime in the basement of the then-Hotel Harding. Despite Prohibition, the club served alcohol and featured scantily clad entertainment. (Upon her many arrests for liquor law violations, she always insisted her wealthy patrons brought their own liquor.) Dorothy Parker and her friends enjoyed drinking here. Club Intime closed and was soon replaced with a new spot which was just as notorious (this time as a mob hangout). Renovated by Emery Roth in 1936, the hotel became a more traditional apartment house and today goes by one of its earlier names, The The Albemarle. The cozy bar in the building now called The Flute has hosted social events for the Dorothy Parker Society for more than 20 years.

The Lyceum Theatre on 45th Street, which opened November 2, 1903 is the oldest continuously operating playhouse in Times Square Theatre District . Though the New Amsterdam Theatre and the Hudson Theatre opened earlier that same year, both spaces flirted with careers as movie theaters. The Lyceum holds the distinction of being the District’s oldest continually play-producing theatre, and in 1974, it was the first Broadway theater to be landmarked.

Hotel Metropole, not dated. 147 West 43rd Street has been the site of a hotel for more than a century. Now the Casablanca Hotel, in the early part of the 20th-century, the lot was home to Hotel Metropole. While celebrated as the first hotel in New York City to have running water in every room, Hotel Metropole was one of the most storied gangland hotels in all of Manhattan. A pair of professional gamblers, known as the Consindine Brothers, ran the hotel on behalf of Tammany Hall boss Big Tim Sullivan. The hotel, a crucial part of Big Tim's hustle, was also connected to the small-time gambler, Herman Rosenthal, who ran a lavish gambling den just a few blocks north. In the summer of 1912, Herman Rosenthal, a small-time gambler, was murdered at the Metropole at the behest of Charles Becker, a New York Polic detective who had been on the take. Rosenthal was a well-hated man after talking to the press, giving up information about a gambling ring aided in large part by a cabal of corrupt police. Both Becker, who was considered the mastermind and the gunmen, Harry “Gyp the Blood” Horrowitz and Lefty Louie Rosenburg, were executed for the crime.

My Archive Summer 2019 "In 1996 we got married at the now-demolished Roseland Ballroom off Times Square.. the first and last time our names were on a Marquis. We finally found a place to host 600 people at an affordable rate. This old dance hall had seen better days but we all fit in. It was a hoot." —Brocha Metzger @gothamfairytales

Globe Theater/Lunt-Fontane Theater ARCHITECT: Carrère and Hastings DATE: 1909-10 STYLE: Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts style facade of this building is an unusually handsome design. This design reflects Carrere & Hastings’s earlier celebrated New Theater, now demolished. Its significant architectural features include a five-bay arcade of double-height Ionic columns, deep cornice, and sculpted figures of theater masks.

Lyceum Theater ARCHITECT: Herts & Tallant DATE: 1902-03 STYLE: Beaux-Arts Among its important qualities, the Lyceum Theatre is the oldest playhouse in New York City still serving the legitimate stage. During its history, many notable actors and actresses have appeared there. It was designed in the ornate Beaux-Arts style by the noted theatre architects Herts & Tallant. It contains extensive and innovative theatrical facilities, and is visually dramatic, creating a special atmosphere contributing to the excitement of the theatre and recalling an exciting era in American theatrical history.

Central Substation, IND Subway, entrance detail, ca. 1994. Much of the infrastructure for the IND subway lines are designed in an Art Deco syle owing to their construction in the late 1920s and 1930s. This Central Substation was the largest of the IND powerhouses. The building is four-stories and constructed of a tan brick. Completed in 1932, the Art Deco lettering and ornamentation above the doors and at the roofline still remains.

Longacre Theater ARCHITECT: Henry B. Herts DATE: 1912-13 The design of the auditorium incorporates a configuration notable for its intimacy, including an unusual square proscenium opening, and a two balcony arrangement. The Longacre was built to house the productions of Broadway producer and baseball magnate Harry H. Frazee, at one time the owner of the Boston Red Sox.

Belasco Theatre, September 1936. Originally called the Stuyvesant Theatre, the theatre building was completed in 1907 by architect George Keister for impresario David Belasco. Belasco lived and worked in a large duplex apartment above the auditorium. The theatre had both a spectacularly designed interior, with Tiffany lighting and ceiling panels and ornamental woodwork, and new advanced technology, with modern lighting rigs and a hydraulic fly system. Belasco renamed the building for himself in 1910 and it continued to produce theatrical performances. Purchased in 1949 by the Shuberts, they leased it for use as an NBC studio for three years. In 1952 it returned to its original function and remains a Broadway house today.

The photo published in The Forward on December 25, 1968 had this curious (and sexist) caption: Israel’s Prettiest Join New York’s Finest at Times Square (טיימס סקװער in Yiddish), New York as a New York police officer stands in the center and observes stoically.”

Times Square ca. 1923

International Casino, date unknown (post 1937). The International Casino was an Art Deco building designed by Thomas Lamb and Eugene DeRosa on the site of the Olympia Theatre. It was not a casino in the late 20th century sense of gambling, but a diner club and entertainment venue. The casino only lasted from 1937 until 1940 when a large clothing retailer took over the space on the corner of 45th Street and stayed in business until 1977. In 1980 the Bond's International Casino opened as a nightclub. A popular venue for rock acts, the building hosted Blue Oyster Cult, the Clash, the Dead Kennedys, and Blondie. The venue only survived until 1988. By the 1990s Roundabout Theatre Company had taken over the space and by 2000 it was the world's largest Toys "R" Us. In 2016 the entire blockfront between 44th and 45th Streets was once again demolished for a planned commercial space to house flagship stores of The Gap and Old Navy. During the excavation for the new building, remnants of the 1895 Olympia Theatre were discovered.

Hotel Cadillac, 1907. The Hotel Cadillac was originally constructed as the eight-story Barrett House Hotel in 1883 (a second 12-story section, seen at right and first called the Cadillac, was added a few years later). Here in 1888 Eugene O'Neill, the playwright was born. In 1900 the two section merged under the one name. The hotel survived until 1940 when it was razed for a small taxpayer building.

Built on the site of the Capitol Theater, the Uris Building was built in 1970. Designed by Emery Roth and Sons, the 48 story tower was developed and owned by the Uris brothers. Following a series of vacancies in the 70s, the building was sold to Paramount.

Americana Hotel, ca. 1970. Constructed on the plot that was once occupied by a massive Moorish castle-esque warehouse, the Americana of New York was one of the tallest hotels in the world when completed in 1962. It was also the first hotel with over 1000 rooms to be built since the Waldorf-Astoria in 1931. Designed by Morris Lapidus, better known for his "Miami Modern" style, the Americana was rendered in a bent slab style with some modern flourishes at the ground level entrance. The hotel hosted famous performers at its supper club, The Royal Box. It also was the location for a number of political events, serving as Democratic headquarters for the 1976 Democratic National Convention and 1980 Democratic National Convention. In early November 1972, Brooklyn Congressman Shirley Chisholm stood up in front of 1300 supporters to announce her intention to run for the Presidency. The hotel still stands today as the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel and remains one of the tallest hotels in the world.

Chalmers Knitting Mill was founded in Amsterdam, New York (on the Mohawk River, northwest of Schenectady) in 1901. They used a revolutionary knitting process to manufacture long underwear (which was a ubiquitous article of clothing for men at the time). The patented process was called 'Porosknit,' and it left small holes in material allowing a person’s skin to breathe (union suits up to that point were usually hot and uncomfortable). They later further transformed the underwear market in the 1910s by dividing the union suit into two pieces — top and bottom. (oh happy day!) The underwear company had an uneven financial history but tended to do well during war years as they manufactured goods for the military. 1917 must have been a flush year as they were able to afford a fancy electric sign in the prime location of Times Square!

Alvin Theater ARCHITECT: Herbert J. Krapp DATE: 1926-27 STYLE: Neo-Georgian, Adamesque The Alvin Theater survives today as one of the historic theaters that symbolize American theater for both New York and the nation. It was designed for Alex Aarons and Vinton Freedley, producers of some of Broadway’s most successful musical comedies. The facade designed for the Alvin by Herbert J. Krapp, the most prolific designer of Broadway theaters, is an exceptionally handsome neo-Georgian design. This facade, based on elegant proportions and Adamesque detailing, distinguished the theater headquarters of Aarons and Freedley, and as such represents a special aspect of the nation’s theatrical history. The Alvin Theater Interior was designed in Adamesque style. The elegant Adamesque detailing distinguished the theater headquarters of Aarons and Freedley, a company that produced some of Broadway’s most successful musical comedies. It represents a special aspect of the nation’s theatrical history.

Manhattan Storage, 1936. Constructed in 1899 as a warehouse for the Manhattan Storage Company, this massive building was designed by the firm of J. E. Ware & Son. Ware was most famously known as the creator of the "dumbbell" or "old law" design of New York City tenement buildings. He won a tenement design contest in 1879 organized by a magazine in response to the new housing law that required air shafts.

RFK was interviewed on WEVD radio, an indication of the Forward’s deep support of progressive politics. The call letters are the initials of American socialist leader Eugene V. Debs, who was a candidate for president four times, including once from prison, where he was serving time for defying a court injunction against a strike.

Each month the Landmarks Conservancy highlights New York City’s extraordinarily rich architectural heritage by featuring a different building style or function. As the City we love continues to reopen we are proud to celebrate the return of Broadway and the magic of live theater and will feature many of the majestic houses that have hosted iconic music and memorable performances across the decades.

Lyceum Theater Interior ARCHITECT: Herts & Tallant DATE: 1902-03 STYLE: Beaux-Arts The significant architectural features of this theatre include a lobby with a vaulted domed ceiling and murals, and an auditorium with an elaborate Beaux-Arts style proscenium arch, carved ornament, and elaborate and handsome ceiling. The arch also has flanking boxes covered by projecting hoods, each adorned with oversize gilded plaster swags and cartouches bearing the monogram “L.” The center of the proscenium arch is crowned by an enormous sculpture group representing ” Pallas-Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, accompanied by Music and Drama.”

Church of St. Mary the Virgin Complex ARCHITECT: Napoleon Le Brun & Sons; Pierre Le Brun DATE: 1894-1985 STYLE: Gothic-inspired St. Mary’s was designed to evoke, in the church and Lady Chapel, the 13th-century French Gothic style and, in the Rectory, Clergy and Mission Houses, the 14th-century French Gothic style. The result is one of the finest Gothic-inspired designs of New York’s late 19th-century. The steel frame construction of the church can be said to have made the building the first of its kind and size in the world, thus redefining the conventional methods of ecclesiastical building construction. Among the building’s several specific Anglo-catholic characteristics are the subjects selected for the sculptures of J. Massey Rhind.

My Archive Spring 2019 "Art Paradise: with my buddy Josh exploring midtown, the late 90s." —Ethan Wolff

My Archive Summer 2019

Sixth Avenue El demolition at 50th Street, 1939. Constructed in the 1870s, the Sixth Avenue El was the second elevated line erected in the city (after the Ninth Avenue El). After nearly 60 years of shadowing Sixth Avenue, shaking its adjacent buildings, and dropping all sorts of debris from its tracks, the Sixth Avenue El's death knell was sounded when the city began work on the underground Sixth Avenue Line in 1936. The city purchased the line for $12.5 million and made plans for its demolition. Following a loud and boisterous trip, as passengers stripped the train car for souvenirs, the final IRT Sixth Avenue Elevated train rumbled into the station at 53rd Street and Eighth Avenue at 11:26pm on December 4, 1938. The last passengers made off with destination signs, light bulbs, and straps, all the while smoking cigarettes in flagrant disregard of the printed signage (which was likely stolen too)! The process of razing the elevated structure began in early 1939. The Wurts Brothers captured this crowded process of demolition at 50th Street. The IND Sixth Avenue Line opened in December 1940, two years and one week after the elevated ceased operations.

238-244 and 246 West 44th Street, south side, between Broadway and Eighth Ave., showing the Little Theatre at No. 238-244, ca. 1920. Today the Little Theatre is the Helen Hayes Theatre, named for an American actress nicknamed the "First Lady of American Theatre." It is the smallest Broadway house with just under 600 seats.

No. 690 Eighth Avenue, ca. 1936.

Booth Theatre ARCHITECT: Henry B. Herts DATE: 1912-13 STYLE: Venetian-inspired The Venetian-inspired design by architect Henry B. Herts is particularly distinguished and responsive to its prominent site. Among its outstanding characteristics are its curved corner entrance, giant pilasters, elaborate door and window enframements, and unusual “sgrafitto” ornament.

Completed in 1961, the Equitable Life Assurance Building was designed in the International style by the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (architects of Lever House and the Manufacturers Hanover Trust, among others). With this new building, the Equitable Company moved uptown from its long-held (and disaster-tinged) location at 120 Broadway. The building includes a 42-story main tower and a 14-story mid-block wing. Rendered in a glass curtain wall with low profile aluminum spandrels, the building appears to have a glassier facade than it truly does. The occupancy of the building was well announced with massive lighted signage at the top floors. Once reading Equitable, the lighted sign now declares UBS the building's major tenant.

Roxy Theatre ca. 1932 One of the great, lost movie theaters of New York City, the RKO Roxy Theatre was like a little sibling to Radio City Music Hall, both of which opened in December 1932 on the Sixth Avenue side of Rockefeller Center. It wasn’t as large or as sumptuous as Radio City, but it still boasted a distinctively elegant Art Deco design. Intended to be a movie palace, it claimed to have the largest chandelier in the world in its auditorium, and when visitors weren’t busy enjoying the entertainment, they could descend from the Grand Foyer to the Grand Lounge in the theater’s basement. In spite of the building’s charms, however, it was never a great commercial success. Known as the Center Theater for most of its existence, it tried hosting live shows, television broadcasts, and even some ice skating, before eventually being demolished in 1954.

Brill Building ARCHITECT: Victor A. Bark, Jr. DATE: 1930-31 STYLE: Art Deco Designed in the Art Deco style by architect Victor A. Bark, Jr., the white brick elevations feature handsome terra-cotta reliefs, as well as two niches that prominently display stone and brass portrait busts that most likely portray the developer’s son, Alan, who died as the building was being planned. A remarkable number of tenants have been music publishers, but the building is also notable for attracting an evolving roster of songwriters, booking agents, vocal coaches, publicity agents, talent agents, and performers

Cort Theatre, undated. Built in 1912 by famed theatre architect Thomas W. Lamb for producer John Cort, the Cort Theatre sat more than 1000 patrons. The exterior was modeled after the Petit Trianon, a small chateau on the grounds of Versailles, while the interior was decorated in an over the top Louis XVI-style with marble and elaborate plaster panels. The Shubert Organization has owned the theatre since 1927, and it was named a designated NYC landmark in 1987.

Helen Hayes Theatre, West 46th Street, ca. 1977. Constructed in 1911 by Herts & Tallant as the Folies-Bergers, a dinner theatre with vaudeville, the venue was only open under this name for six months. (Though that was enough time for an 18-year-old Mae West to be discovered during her Broadway debut that September.) The Moorish Revival structure, with its striking gold, turquoise, and ivory terra cotta facade was renamed the Fulton Theatre in October 1911. The dining tables on the orchestra level were replaced with traditional seating. The 895-seat auditorium saw both films and theatrical performances over the next few decades. Bela Lugosi starred in “Dracula” for 265 performances in 1927 and “Arsenic and Old Lace” with Boris Karloff premiered in 1941 and played for 1444 shows. In 1955 the theatre was renamed for Helen Hayes, the "First Lady of American Theatre" and EGOT winner. The venue survived until 1978 when it (and its neighbors the Morasco, Bijou, Astor, and Gaiety Theatres) were threatened with demolition. Despite the Hayes and the Moroasco being deemed eligible for for the National Register of Historic Places, demolition began in March of 1982. It is interrupted briefly when a number of actors are arrested for obstructing the work and is halted, again only briefly, when the the owners are forced to comply with a ruling to preserve objects of historic and architectural interest. Today on the lots that once were occupied by the five historic theatres sits the 1985 Marriott Marquis Hotel, which has its own Broadway theatre. Despite their inaction in this case, by 1987 the Landmarks Preservation Commission had individually landmarked 25 Broadway theatres. In 2011, 50 pieces of terra cotta collected from the ruins of the Helen Hayes facade went up for auction.

Forrest Hotel, pictured at left, next to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.

International Casino, ca. 1937.

Lyric Theatre, 1903. Completed in 1903, the Lyric Theatre actually was one of the only New York theatres with two formal entrances: 213 West 42nd Street (seen here) and 214-226 West 43rd Street. The original occupant of the theatre was supposed to be composer Reginald De Koven's American School of Opera. Unfortunately, the school went bankrupt before construction was completed and the theatre was leased to the Shubert brothers. In 1934 the building became a movie theatre, which it remained until 1992. In the mid-1990s, as a part of the Times Square renewal project, the theatre was gutted and combined with its neighbor, the Apollo, to create the Ford Center. The Ford Center was then renamed the Hilton Theatre in 2005, the Foxwoods Theatre in 2010, and was once again called the Lyric Theatre by 2014. Today the facades of the two formal entrance to the original Lyric Theatre act as the entrances of the modern Lyric Theatre.

Gallo Theatre, 1928. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, the theatre at West 54th Street has a long, varied, and unique history. Both early opera and straight play productions were commercial flops in the Eugene De Rosa-designed theatre. Sold in foreclosure less than two years after opening, the building became the New Yorker Theatre and a WPA Federal Music Project venue in the 1930s. Renamed Studio 52 in 1943 when purchased by CBS (the number had nothing to do with the street address), the space hosted radio and TV productions through the 1970s, including What's My Line?, The $64,000 Question, and The Jack Benny Show. In 1977 the building entered its most famed period as the nightclub Studio 54, a glitzy, glamorous, celebrity-filled disco. Studio 54 closed in 1986. Occupied by other clubs and concert venues through the late 1980s and 1990s, the theatre was restored to much of its architectural grandeur in 1994 (the nightclub owners had covered or painted black much of the interior). It was leased by the Roundabout Theatre Company in 1998 for a production of Cabaret and was purchased by Roundabout in 2003.

Chanin Theatre, ca.1925. Designed by Herbert J. Krapp for producers Irwin and Henry Chanin, Chanin's 46th Street Theatre opened in 1925. Soon after the Chanins leased it to the Shuberts who bought it outright in 1931. Known as the 46th Street Theatre between 1931 and 1990, the Nederlander Organization (its new owners as of 1981) renamed it in honor of composer Richard Rodgers in 1990. The theatre included a number of innovative features including a sloped orchestra level which offered excellent sight lines, and Chanin's 'democratic' seating plan, in which all patrons entered through the same doors regardless of ticket level. This theatre has the distinction of presenting the greatest number (11) of Tony Award-winning Best Plays and Best Musicals. Since summer of 2015 it has been the home of the musical phenomenon, Hamilton.

Seventh Avenue, north from West 48th Street, ca. 1929.

On October 20th, 1996, in the F.Y.I. column of the New York Times, a reader wrote in: "When I was a child back in the 1950s, I seem to recall shaking hands with Mr. Peanut in Times Square. Was I dreaming?" The response from the Times was no, and the explanation that "Mr. Peanut was an employee of the Planter's Peanut store at 1560 Broadway." The store is pictured in the above postcard. Planter's Peanuts was founded in 1906 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Mr. Peanut, its dapperly dressed mascot, was developed in 1916 and has changed very little since. Planter's opened stores across the country, operating about 200 locations by 1960. The Times Square location was the largest of the franchise. The store and its 15,000 bulb sign became an icon in its own right, quickly gaining popularity in the years following the end of World War II. The "Planters Peanuts Advertising and Collectibles," a 1978 guide to the memorabilia of the company written by Richard D. and Barbara Reddock, is quoted in the Times' response, describing the Broadway location shop with "glass display cases, a roasting machine, a large 10-foot papier-mache Mr. Peanut, a cast-iron Mr. Peanut scale... a couple of costumes." These costumes included Mr. Peanut's quintessential black cane, and an outfit of "white spats, cuffs, and gloves," to accessorize the hard-plastic "shell" mask and top hat an employee would have to wear over his head. For the duration of the workday, Mr. Peanut could be seen parading up and down Broadway. On some occasions, he would even give out free bags of peanuts. The Times Square shop was closed in 1961. Standard Brands acquired Planter's Peanuts, which saw little need for retail stores. The rest of the Planter's stores followed suit.

"A view of the southeast corner of 45th Street, showing the portion of building containing Loew's New York Theatre, 1935." In 1895 Oscar Hammerstein I opened the Olympia Theatre, which housed a theatre, a music hall, a concert hall, and a roof garden. The complex had two main auditorium spaces: the Olympia Music Hall and the Lyric. Hammerstein was forced to sell the theatre complex in 1898 under financial strain.The imposing French Renaissance building was sold at auction in individual sections, and those sections remained theatrical and cinematic venues under a variety of names over the next 40 years. In this photograph, the darker building at left is the Loew's New York Theatre, which originally housed the Olympia Music Hall (thought it had been reduced in size after Hammerstein sold it). The building at the far right (on the north east corner of 44th Street, behind the large billboard) is the Criterion, which had been the original Lyric. Both buildings and the light colored stone structure at center made up the entire original Olympia complex. In 1936 the entire blockfront was demolished, though some sources claim parts of the original structures was kept. At the south corner of 45th (at left) the International Casino was constructed, while at the north corner of 44th (at far right) a modern movie house called the Criterion was erected.

Barrymore Theater ARCHITECT: Herbert J. Krapp DATE: 1928 STYLE: Elizabethan The Barrymore was built in honor of and named for Ethel Barrymore, one of the nation’s most famous actresses. Its interior is an exceptionally handsome and harmonious design reflecting Elizabethan influences. Among its outstanding characteristics are plasterwork ornament in a strapwork pattern, unusual box treatment, and a coved ceiling with a dome.

Lines in front of Employment Agencies, date unknown (1930s).

Construction on the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line's 50th Street Station, outside the American Horse Exchange building, July 14, 1902. William K. Vanderbilt built the American Horse Exchange in 1881, creating a massive full-block hub for the city's elite to quite literally horse trade. An 1896 fire caused extensive damage to the structure, killing 60 horses. Vanderbilt restored the exchange and in 1910 leased it to the Shubert family, who converted the property into the Winter Garden Theatre, today known as the venue where "Cats" had its 18-year run.

Roxy Theater ca. 1927 When Samuel L. "Roxy" Rothafel opened the Roxy Theater in 1927, it contained over 6,000 seats and was considered the largest theater of its kind in the world. Elaborate live performances were also part of the show: the orchestra pit seated 100 musicians and the ballet corps had up to 100 dancers, including the Gae Foster Roxyettes featured in this card. These high-stepping dancers were the forerunners of the Rockettes, the group "Roxy" took with him when he moved his show to Radio City Music Hall in 1932. The Roxy was razed in 1961.

Police Sergeant Jim Churchill was just a regular working cop at the turn of the century. After 20 years on the force, he was named an acting captain of a precinct in the Bowery in 1901. That position was short-lived as he was soon dismissed for "neglect of duty." Supposedly Churchill didn't work hard enough to close down illegal businesses in his neighborhood, including brothels and bars that served alcohol unlawfully on Sundays. In an ironic twist, after being fired for not closing more bars, Churchill opened his own! The bar and eatery at 1420 Broadway between 39th and 40th Street was a rousing success! He moved into a large space (seen here) at 46th Street and Broadway in 1906 where he could seat more than 350 patrons. After one more move to a brand new three-story terra cotta and brick building at 49th Street, Churchhill's grew to be world famous. Closed with the financial ruination of Prohibition, the final location of Churchill's became a Chinese restaurant before being demolished in 1937.

Lower East Side original character actor Sam "Shalom" Jaffe had an acting career that spanned decades, was studded with awards and was throughly unexpected. A City College college graduate who went on to study engineering at Columbia University, Jaffe was headed for industry when his artistic interests grabbed hold. As a child he appeared in Yiddish theatre, and as an adult, The Forward was gifted with his generous appearances on their behalf, such as at The Forward's WEVD radio station studio seen in the archival image above, where he is seen performing before ABC radio microphones.

The Brill Building, 1935. The Brill Building is a landmark structure that was developed in 1930-31 by Abraham E. Lefcourt. When Lefcourt first leased the land from the Brill Brothers, he planned to erect the world's tallest building on the site, which he would then name after his son, Alan. When Lefcourt failed to meet the terms of their agreement, the Brills foreclosed on the property and changed the name of the near-complete building from the Alan E. Lefcourt Building to the Brill Building. Since its construction, the Brill Building has been synonymous with American music. From the last days of Tin Pan Ally to the emergence of rock and roll, it has been home to a number of remarkable tenants in the music industry. Many big-name performers have leased office space in the building, including Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, and Nat King Cole. At its height in the '60s, more than 160 tenants were involved in the music industry, giving the Brill Building a genre of its own: "The Brill Building Sound."

White Rats Club House, ca 1914. The White Rats was a fraternal organization of Vaudeville actors founded by comedian, actor, and prizefighter George Fuller Golden. The group was based on the entertainment industry fraternity and charity the British Water Rats. In 1899, the Water Rats had helped Golden and his wife pay for their medical expenses in London after Ms. Golden fell ill. They eventually sponsored the couple's return to the United States. Golden was so moved that when he returned to New York, he founded the White Rats. The organization's main aim was not charity, like the Water Rats. It was concerned with a more pressing problem which Vaudeville performers faced in New York. A monopolistic group, the Vaudeville Managers Association (VMA), threated the working rights of performers, keeping their wages low and maintaining an iron grip on their mobility. A year after the White Rats formed they began negotiations with the VMA. They organized a strike in February of 1901, which was quickly called off because performers had to secure contracts through the VMA itself. The White Rats was ultimately disbanded in 1916 after another unsuccessful strike left members blacklisted from productions at any of the 10,000 theaters owned by one of the VMA's leaders. Founder of the White Rats, George Fuller Golden, never worked as an entertainer again.

Barrymore Theater, ca. 1976. Designed by Herbert Krapp in 1928, the theatre, named after famed American actress Ethel Barrymore, was the final Broadway theatre created by Lee and J.J. Shubert. It is also the only surviving theatre created by the original owner/operators of the Shubert family for one of their performers. The two-story terra-cotta grillwork screen is the defining feature of the facade and was modeled after the design of public baths in Rome. The premiere play was The Kingdom of God, with Barrymore in a leading role. She returned to the stage here a number of times through the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. The Barrymore was the debut location of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, which premiered in 1947, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Jessica Tandy, Marlon Brando.

B.S Moss Colony, ca. 1932. The theatre at 1681 Broadway opened in 1924 as the B. S. Moss’s Colony Theatre, a vaudeville and movie theatre. Designed by one of the premier theatre architects of the 1920s, Eugene De Rosa, the venue has a large seating capacity (1,765 seats) and deep stage (60 feet). During its two stints as a movie theatre (1924-1930 and 1934-1940), Walt Disney debuted two of his most famous early films there. "Steamboat Willie" opened in 1928 and "Fantasia" in 1939. Given a number names in its early years (Universal's Colony Theatre, B.S. Moss' Broadway Theatre, and Earl Carroll's Broadway Theatre), the theatre became a venue for live Broadway performances starting in 1930 and then again in 1940, when it was christened the unimaginative, Broadway Theatre. Bought in 1939 by the Shuberts, the theatre has been renovated a number of times. The interior and exterior were designed in an Italian Renaissance style. The original facade was resurfaced in a grey polished granite in 1991 when a skyscraper was constructed above the theatre. One of only five Broadway theatres that actually front the street, Broadway, this venue has often been the location that successful shows transfer to near the end of their runs.

Paramount Building ARCHITECT: Rapp & Rapp DATE: 1926-27 The building’s distinctive massing creates a striking pyramidal silhouette which is further enhanced at the upper stories by overscaled consoles, four clock faces recalling the Paramount trademark and a crowning glass globe. Designed by the Chicago-based firm of Rapp & Rapp, who were among the best-known and most prolific designers of elaborate movie theaters in this country in the 1920s, it served as the Eastern headquarters for the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, forerunner of Paramount Pictures, whose entrepreneurial founders played a major role in promoting the revolutionary motion picture medium.

Criterion Theatre, ca. 1925. The Criterion Theatre, originally known as the Lyric, opened in 1895 as part of Oscar Hammerstein's block-wide entertainment complex called the Olympia. In 1898, Hammerstein was forced by his creditors to sell the Olympia complex in which the components were sold separately. All were demolished, making way for the Criterion Theatre, retail stores, and the International Casino nightclub. B.S. Moss built the Criterion Theatre, though he leased the space to Loew’s for 20 years beginning in 1938. The Criterion Theatre later closed in the spring of 2000 and was renovated to become a massive Toys R Us store, which itself closed in December 2015.

New York Times Annex ca. 1924 Until 1997, the New York Times was headquartered and printed its papers in a curious châteauesque structure at 229 West 43rd Street, a block from the 1904 skyscraper that gave its name to Times Square. The Annex Building took shape in three major stages of construction from 1913 to 1924. The first section was an 11-story structure at the east end of the site designed by Buchman & Fox that was engineered to anticipate upward expansion. The dignified design of limestone and terra cotta presented the appearance of a university club, but the interior was laid out as a true vertical factory that the Times proclaimed "the greatest and completest newspaper workshop in the world." The need for more space came rapidly. With daily circulation reaching 313,000 copies by 1921, the Times sought to double the plant's printing capacity. In 1922, architects Ludlow & Peabody designed a 100-foot extension on the west side-an 11-story addition on the west, a four-story "attic," and seven-story setback tower rising above the whole in the style of the French Renaissance, which like the Times Tower was ornamented with lavish confections of cream-colored glazed terra cotta. Like the first section of the Annex, the interior was carefully designed and engineered as a purpose-built factory that produced a continuous daily flow of news and newspapers. Every floor was occupied by the functions of the paper. In 1932, Detroit-based architect Albert Kahn added another west wing, and additions in 1947 by Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon that extended the Annex to 44th Street and expanded the overall building size by 61 percent. While many other newspapers moved printing operations to areas with cheaper rents, the Times continued publishing from the Annex until 1997, when they relocated their printing to a new plant in College Point, Queens. Today the 52-story New York Times Building on Eighth Avenue and 41st Street, designed by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop with FXFowle, completed in 2009, only houses the paper's white-collar workforce.

Public School 67 ARCHITECT: C. B. J. Snyder DATE: 1893-94 STYLE: Romanesque Revival The High School of the Performing Arts, formerly Public School 67, is a handsome Romanesque Revival style building originally built to serve a large residential community on the west side of Manhattan. The school is the first known to have been designed by C.B.J. Snyder, Superintendent of School Buildings to the Board of Education for thirty years.

St. James Theatre, 1935. Opened as the Erlanger Theatre in 1927, this building replaced the building that housed the original Sardi's restaurant. Its architects were Warren & Wetmore, famed for their work on Grand Central Terminal. Their design of a simple brick facade with an ornate iron loggia (an exterior, covered, but open gallery), was a departure from their more elaborate structures. The interior, though, was awash with French-inspired ornamental detail and its two balconies made it a popular venue for musicals. It was renamed the St. James Theatre in 1930 when it was taken over by the Astor family, who also owned the land it was built on. Eventually taken under the control of the Jujamcyn Theaters, the venue will host 2018's most talked-about new show, Disney's Frozen!

Hotel Langwell, 1922. Designed by George Keister in 1893, the first name of this hotel on 44th Street was the Hotel Gerard. Built in a Romanesque Revival style with touches of German Gothic and Renaissance details, it was opened as a short- and long-term residence for the wealthy visitors to the growing theatre district, political dignitaries, and foreign travelers. The high-peaked hotel stood tall over its largely low-rise neighborhood of the 1890s. It became the Hotel Langwell by 1920 and the once luxury building had deteriorated into what the New York Times called a "disorderly house," a polite phrase for something likely much more seedy. Foreclosed on, sold, and renamed a number of times between 1934 and the 1950s, by the 1970s it was a cheap welfare hotel. It fit in well among the other SROs and cheap thrills of hard-hit and economically depressed Times Square. It was during this time (1982) that the building was named an individual landmark. By the 1990s the neighborhood was beginning its renaissance. This 1893 building was finally emerged for its new beginning after a substantial renovation in 2007 and opened as the high-end residential hotel, AKA Times Square.

Little Theatre, ca. 1915.

In December 1936, the Winter Sports Show and International Ski Meet was held at Madison Square Garden.

Hammerstein’s Theater, now the Ed Sullivan Theater ARCHITECT: Herbert J. Krapp DATE: 1927 STYLE: Gothic The Ed Sullivan Theater Interior was designed in Gothic style, and it includes leaded glass light fixtures and polychromatic ceramic tile, making it unique among the Broadway theaters. Despite a number of alterations the interior retains most of its original character and configuration.

Shubert Theatre, with the marque lit for A Chorus Line, ca. 1979.

Lyceum Theatre, 1977. The Lyceum Theatre is one of Broadway's longest continuously-operating venues. The Beaux-Arts theater, designed by Herts & Tallant, opened in November 1902 with a performance of The Proud Prince. In Edmund Vincent Gillon's 1977 photo, the marquee advertises "Your Arms Too Short to Box with God," a musical interpretation of the Book of Matthew for which Delores Hall won a Best Actress Tony.

Film Center Building, ca. 1948 The Film Center was built in 1928 and was used for various functions of film productions during the late 1920s and 1930s when New York City was the center of filmmaking. The building housed sets, editing, and production facilities, as well as a distribution center. The Film Center Building was designed by Eli Jaques Kahn in an Art Deco style. Kahn was a prominent architect in the first half of the 20th century, known for his modernist designs. The building has one of the most detailed surviving interiors from that period in New York City. Both the exterior of the building and a portion of the interior were landmarked in 1982.

Early 20th-century censors, excited about “controversial” subjects being explored in New York’s theaters, focused mainly on sexuality – in particular, homosexuality and interracial relationships. In 1927, the New York Legislature passed the Wales Padlock Law, which made it illegal “depicting or dealing with, the subject of sex degeneracy, or sex perversion,” and offending theaters could be closed. (Similarly, Hollywood movies were subjected to the infamous Motion Picture Production (Hays) Code of 1930.) Although the New York law was not often enforced, and was protested by the theater community, it had a huge and censorious effect on the Broadway stage. Despite the law, which remained on the books until 1967, lesbian and gay characters did manage to make it to Broadway, often in the works of lesbian and gay playwrights. At the Ethel Barrymore Theater, for instance, there were a number of important productions with subtle gay themes: Design for Living (1933) by Noel Coward, with Coward, Alfred Lunt, and Lynn Fontanne; A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), by Tennessee Williams, with Marlon Brando (winner of the Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award); Bell, Book and Candle (1950) by John Van Druten; and Tea and Sympathy (1953) by Robert Anderson. A Raisin in the Sun (1959), by Lorraine Hansberry, was the first work on Broadway by an African-American woman and winner of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award.

Imperial Theatre drawing, date unknown. Designed by Henry J. Krapp and opened in 1923, the Imperial was created specifically to be the Shubert's premier stage for musicals. Its diminutive entrance squished between the Kraw Theatre (now demolished) and the large Music Box Theatre in "Shubert Alley" on 45th Street obscures that the bulk of the theatre itself is actually located on 46th Street. The T-shaped venue was constructed with a modest facade, much like Krapp's other post-WWI theatres for the Shuberts. The interior was more elaborately designed with a flourish of highly ornamental, low relief plasterwork on the walls, typifying Krapp's appreciation of 18th century English Adamesque style. The auditorium includes three large boxes flanking each side of the stage, and is decorated in the neo-classical decoration of the Adamesque style: framed medallions, vases, urns, floral motifs, and chandeliers. The interior of the theatre was designated a landmark in 1986, though its exterior was not protected similarly. The Imperial has hosted a number of Broadway hits in its history included the premiere of 'Annie Get Your Gun," 'Fiddler on the Roof," and "Pippen." After three years at the Broadway Theatre, "Les Misérables" transferred to the Imperial, where it ran for an additional 13 years.

Beloved Academy Award winning German-Jewish actor Luise Rainer, arrived in America in 1935, as fascism continued to seduce Europe. In December 1940, a mere five years after arriving, having already won 2 Oscars two years in a row, and with America still sitting it out, and the war in Europe headlining the news, Rainer guest starred at The Forward's radio station WEVD, "Salute To America" program highlighting American democracy.

Bickford's Restaurant, 1936. Samuel Longley Bickford began a career in restaurants just after the turn of the century, but it was not until 1921 that he established his eponymous restaurant chain. In the decade after opening, the chain grew to more than two dozen locations in New York City and Boston. The lunchrooms were self-serve with a limited menu. The goal was quick turn over, while maintaining high quality and moderate cost. Eventually the chain included more than 85 locations. During the 1930s most of the restaurant locations were designed by architect F. Russell Stuckert (whose father had designed Horn & Hardart restaurants). With 42 New York City locations in 1970 and only two in 1980, Bickford's disappeared from the city entirely in 1982.

Entrance to Film Center, ca. 1995.

Seventh Avenue at the north west corner of 47th Street, ca. 1915. This is a quintessential Times Square photograph from the early 20th century. Originally Long Acre Square, the center of the city's horse carriage industry in the late 19th century, the area would have its name changed in 1904. Times Square was christened that after the New York Times newspaper constructed their headquarters on 42nd Street. In the next two decades, the introduction of the subway and the construction of hotels and theatres prompted a massive boom of the area into a busy cultural center. The billboards depicted here advertise nearby attractions including the Shubert and Winter Garden Theatres, as well as take advantage of the well traveled intersection to advertise products such as beer and automobiles.

328 West 48th Street, south side between Eighth and Ninth Avenues showing Public School 17, ca. 1920. Originally constructed as Public School 17 in 1908, the facility is also known as the Midtown West School. Designed by C.B.J Snyder, the school survived through the 20th century, and at some point had its designation changed to Public School 212. In 1990 the building became home to the Professional Performing Arts School. This small, specialized school focuses on the development and showcasing of students in dance, drama, and vocal music, along with traditional subjects. Famous alum of the school include actress Claire Danes, actor Jesse Eisenberg, and singer Alicia Keys.

Winter Garden Theatre, May 3, 1930. The building at 1634 Broadway was constructed in 1896 for William Kissam Vanderbilt's American Horse Exchange. In 1911 the building was leased by the Shubert family for a theatrical venue. They hired architect William Albert Swasey to redesign the theatre. The fourth New York theatre to be named 'Winter Garden," the venue opened March 10, 1911 with a production of the musical revue "La Belle Paree." In 1922 the building was completely remodeled by famed theatre architect Henry J. Krapp.The rebuilt stage is wider than most other Broadway theatres, with a a low proscenium arch. The Shuberts purchased the name and format of the Ziegfeld Follies after the death of Florenz Ziegfeld in 1932. The Winter Garden hosted the Follies in 1934 and 1936. The Winter Garden, though, is best known as the venue that hosted the 18-year run of the musical "Cats." The show premiered on October 7, 1982 and ran 7,485 performances. (Currently it is the fourth longest Broadway run, only exceeded by "Phantom of the Opera," 'Chicago," and "The Lion King.")

44th Street Theatre, date unknown. Originally opened by the Shuberts in 1912 as the Weber and Fields' Music Hall, three years later the comedy due left the space and it was converted into a legitimate Broadway theatre. The theatre, after 1915 called the 44th Street Theatre, was designed by William A. Swansea. The building included a roof top theatre, known by 1918 as the Nora Bayes Theatre, named for a vaudeville performer credited with "Shine on, Harvest Moon." The rooftop venue presented Federal Theatre Project shows in the 1930s, as well as marionette, amateur theatre, and dance companies, while the nightclub in the basement was likely a speakeasy in the Prohibition era. By 1940 the building was owned by the Times Corporation and leased by the Shuberts. In 1942 the nightclub became the Stage Door Canteen, a popular hot spot for American and Allied servicemen. The Shubert Organization lost its lease in 1945 and the building was soon-after demolished.

Hotel Edison, c. 1930. Completed in 1931, the Hotel Edison was designed by Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known designer of theatres. On the opening day of the hotel, Thomas Edison switched on the electricity. The Art Deco style hotel opened with space enough for 1000 guests and a large ballroom. The ballroom was converted into a theatre in 1950 and hosted theatrical productions until 1991, when it was changed back into a ballroom space. The interiors of the building showcased its Deco style with terraced hallways with gold-trimmed mirrors and a mural lined lobby. The building also was the location of the well-loved Cafe Edison, a Polish style dinner in opulent former formal dinning room of the hotel. Cafe Edison unfortunately closed in 2014.

Eagle Brewery, ca. 1892. This 19th century west side brewery has a history intertwined with the oldest brewery in the United States, Yuengling. Eagle Brewery was founded in by John Frederick Betz, a young man who had apprenticed at Yuengling in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. After a trip to Europe to learn from master brewers in Germany and Austria, he returned to America and opened his business in 1853. Betz began a brewing empire, with operations in Philadelphia and Jersey City. In 1890 the name was changed to Lembeck and Betz Eagle Brewery. The NJ and PA breweries closed in 1920 during Prohibition, so likely this one did as well. It is unknown when the buildings were demolished.

The Forward’s fav opera and recording star Richard Riven Tucker was much beloved by Metroplitan Opera fans as well as Forward readers, including as a one time deli sandwich! Yes, to celebrate the centennial of his birth, he was given that special NYC honor of being a deli sandwich, and having then NYC Mayor Bloomberg honor his birthday, August 28, as “Richard Tucker Day”.

239 West 45th Street, unknown date. Designed to the plans of architect C. Howard Crane, the intimate Music Box Theater was specifically constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris to house Berlin's famed Music Box Revues. Though one of the smaller Broadway venues, with a seating capacity of only 860, its box seats are notable for being usually large and rounded. After opening in 1921, the theatre hosted a new musical production annually until 1924, when it presented its first play, Cradle Snatchers, starring Humphrey Bogart. Notable playwrights have since found a home at the theatre, including William Inge in the 1950s, who had great success there with Picnic, Bus Stop, and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs. The theatre was co-owned by Berlin's estate and the Shubert Organization until 2007, when the Shubert Organization assumed its full ownership.

Early 20th-century censors, excited about “controversial” subjects being explored in New York’s theaters, focused mainly on sexuality – in particular, homosexuality and interracial relationships. In 1927, the New York Legislature passed the Wales Padlock Law, which made it illegal “depicting or dealing with, the subject of sex degeneracy, or sex perversion,” and offending theaters could be closed. (Similarly, Hollywood movies were subjected to the infamous Motion Picture Production (Hays) Code of 1930.) Although the New York law was not often enforced, and was protested by the theater community, it had a huge and censorious effect on the Broadway stage. Despite the law, which remained on the books until 1967, lesbian and gay characters did manage to make it to Broadway, often in the works of lesbian and gay playwrights. The last Broadway show impacted by the Wales law was Dorothy and Howard Baker’s lesbian drama Trio (1944-45) at the Belasco, which was shut down by the LaGuardia administration two months after opening, but engendered a protest over censorship from theater folks, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the press, and politicians. Two later plays of note at the Belasco were Lorraine Hansberry‘s A Raisin in the Sun (1959-60; 530 performances) that starred Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, and Diana Sands and had first opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, and Frank Marcus’s The Killing of Sister George (1966-67; 205 performances).

Belasco's Stuyvesant Theatre ARCHITECT: George Keister DATE: 1906-07 STYLE: Neo-Georgian This theater was designed as Belasco’s ideal theater by George Keister, an important theater architect, in an elegant neo-Georgian style reminiscent of townhouse architecture and specifically intended to suggest the intimate drama presented by Belasco within. As such it represents an early monument in the development of the “Little Theater” movement in New York.

In 1908 publishing magnate Charles Scribner built a printing plant and headquarters. The 14-story building was designed with 13 1/2 foot ceilings and wide set interior columns for the placement of large printing machinery. The windows also were built floor to ceiling. Today the building has been converted to a modern office building, with tenants such as the coworking company, WeWork.

Though few may know of it today, the Hotel Astor was the heart of Times Square for decades. Built at the heart of the theatre district, the Astor was a glamorous destination that helped bring the area to life.

Martin Beck Theater Interior ARCHITECT: C. Albert Lansburgh DATE: 1923-24 STYLE: Byzantine The exotic design of Martin Beck Theater, or Al Hirschfeld Theater, is based on Byzantine motifs, making the Beck architecturally unique among the Broadway theaters. Among the most notable design features of the interior are a triple-domed lobby with murals, and an auditorium with spiral-ribbed proscenium arch and fan vaults. Its exotic painted domed ceiling is the work of Albert Herter, a noted American muralist.

Shubert Theater ARCHITECT: Henry B. Herts DATE: 1912-13 STYLE: Venetian Renaissance, Theater Built in 1912-13, shortly before World War I, to the designs of Henry B. Herts, the Shubert was one of a pair with the Booth, and was among the numerous theaters constructed by the Shuberts, one of the most active and influential families in American theater history. Its significant architectural features include heavy rusticated terra-cotta pilasters and arches, a curving corner entrance pavilion facing Broadway, an elaborate portal, and unusual panels of “sgraffito” ornament. Herts designed a Renaissance-inspired auditorium matching the theater’s “Venetian Renaissance” exterior. Among the most significant architectural features of the interior are its ornamental plasterwork, and the unusual series of painted panels of classical figures that adorn the boxes and the ceiling.

Palace Theatre, 1913. The Palace Theatre was a venture originally undertaken by a team of non-New Yorkers. The 1913 building was designed by Milwaukee architects Kirchoff & Rose (their only NYC commission) and was funded by Marvin Beck, a vaudeville entrepreneur from San Fransisco. Beck's plan to open a venue in direct competition with the east coast vaudeville empire of Keith–Albee was derailed when Albee required that Beck transfer three-quarters ownership to the company to be able to host acts from the east coast circuit. Beck agreed and became the Palace Theatre's booking agent. The Palace became the premier vaudeville venue in New York. In 1932 the theatre became a RKO movie house, with a return to live stage shows (in addition to movies) from 1936 to 1957. Citizen Kane had its world premiere at the Palace in 1941. A tall hotel building was constructed over the theatre in the 1980s and today the facade is completely obstructed by advertisements.

Madison Square Garden at Eighth Avenue and 50th Street, ca. 1930, the third structure to bear that name.

Rivoli Theatre, 1918. Designed by renowned theatre architect, Thomas Lamb, the Greek Revival theatre opened to the public on December 28, 1917. The very first movie screened was the Douglas Fairbanks film "A Modern Musketeer," which was presented with a "live" program featuring musical soloists, the organ, and house orchestra. The Rivoli was built as the sister theatre to the Rialto (at Broadway and 42nd Street). The auditorium could accommodate 2270 patrons and was noted for its acoustics. The house orchestra was 50 pieces and conducted by Dr. Hugo Riesenfeld. The design of the stage was specific for the movie screen (in the large center proscenium) and two side for the orchestra and soloists. A stage for live theatrical productions was only constructed in 1926. Comic book writer, editor, publisher Stan Lee was an usher at the Rivoli in his youth. In the 1950s the theatre was converted to a 70mm Todd-AO setup with a deeply curved screen. The theatre was demolished in 1987.

Music Box Theater Interior ARCHITECT: C. Howard Crane & E. George Kiehler DATE: 1920 STYLE: Palladian-inspired The interior of the Music Box Theater is a fine example of Palladian-inspired design. Among its significant architectural features is a flat proscenium arch flanked by Palladian arched boxes echoing the design of its exterior, handsome murals, and Adamesque-style plasterwork.

Hotel Gerard ARCHITECT: George Keister DATE: 1893-94 STYLE: Romanesque Revival, German Gothic, Renaissance The Gerard is an exceptionally fine example of an apartment hotel, a very popular building type in the late 19th century. It was designed by architect George Keister in an unusual style that combines late Romanesque Revival and German Gothic and Renaissance forms to create a handsome and sophisticated work. This design reflects Keister’s architectural philosophy. It was in the vanguard of the development of the Times Square area as the center of New York City’s entertainment district and its construction is integrally related to that of the theater district. It is one of the more architecturally distinguished and visually prominent buildings in the west Midtown section of the city.

Fire Engine Company No. 54 ARCHITECT: Napoleon LeBrun & Son DATE: 1888 STYLE: Queen Anne, Romanesque Revival Fire Engine Company No. 54 is a late but excellent example of LeBrun & Son’s numerous mid-block firehouses, reflecting the firm’s attention to materials, stylish details, plan and setting. Napoleon LeBrun, who had established his firm in New York City in 1864, achieved renown as a designer of office buildings, including those for Home Life Insurance Company and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The building combines elements of Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival styles, and adopts the designs of numerous mid-block firehouses as an economical and rapid means of creating public buildings that clearly identified their civic function.

Cort Theatre ARCHITECT: Thomas W. Lamb DATE: 1912-13 STYLE: French The Cort Theater represents a special aspect of the nation’s theatrical history. Beyond its historical importance, it is an exceptionally handsome theater, with a facade modeled on the Petit Trianon in Versailles. Its triple-story, marble-faced Corinthian colonnade is very unusual among the Broadway theaters. Thomas Lamb was New York’s most prolific theater architect, but the Cort is one of only two legitimate stage theaters of his design surviving in the Broadway area. The design of this theatre is based on the French architecture at Versailles, and the interior’s significant architectural features include plaster cameos, a mural, and a unique proscenium arch of plasterwork and art glass. For over three-quarters of a century, the Cort Theater has served as home to countless numbers of the plays through which the Broadway theater has come to personify American theater.

Adelphi Theatre, March 30, 1937. Opened as the Craig Theatre opened on December 24, 1928, the venue on 54th underwent more name changes that most theatres (which is saying something since most changed names at least twice in their histories). The venue's longest running name was the Adelphi Theatre (1934–1940 and 1944–1958). In 1947 the theatre premiered the American opera "Street Scene" with music by Kurt Weill ("The Threepenny Opera") and book by Langston Hughes. In the 1950s the venue was used as a TV studio, episodes of the 'Honeymooners' were filmed there. It returned to live theatre in 1957, changed names a few more times and closed, finally, in the late 1960s. The building was razed in 1970 and eventually replaced by the office tower at 1325 Avenue of the Americas.

Globe Theatre, ca. 1910. Opened in 1910 and named for the Shakespeare's famous theatre in London, the Globe originally produced dramas. The Italian Renaissance style building was designed by Carrère and Hastings, a firm best known for their New York libraries. The theatre had seating for more than 1100 viewers and two balconies. An innovative feature of the theatre was a retractable roof section, which was meant to open the theatre to the starlight and also provide relief during hot weather. No evidence has been found that the roof ever functioned. It was likely difficult to operate and would have opened the theatre to soot and litter. But, a feature that did function for theatre-goers was individual vents under the seats for heating and cooling. In 1932, owing to the financial crisis and the dwindling revenue of Broadway theatres, the building was converted to a movie house. This function only lasted for about 25 years. In 1958 the building was gut renovated and reopened as the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. In 1959 the Sound of Music opened to mixed reviews. Today the theatre is part of the Nederlander Organization.

Father Francis Patrick Duffy statue, 1937. Father Duffy was a military chaplain and priest who served the local Times Square community as pastor of the Holy Cross Church, located at 237 West 42nd Street. A French Canadian, Duffy arrived in New York in 1893 to be a teacher. In the 1890s he was ordained a priest and spent the next 20 years serving as a seminary instructor in Yonkers and a military chaplain during the Spanish-American and First World Wars. He returned to the city after WWI and became pastor to the Time Square church. He served the community until his death in 1932. In 1940 he was a character in the movie "The Fighting 69th," based on the story of the New York Infantry Regiment during the First World War. The sculpture, which sits in Father Duffy Square, right in the middle of Times Square, was created by Charles Keck, who also created sculptures for the Brooklyn War Memorial. The more than life size figure stands in front of a Celtic cross and was unveiled on May 7, 1937. Photographer Berenice Abbott happened to capture the statue just prior to its debut.

Imperial Theatre ARCHITECT: Herbert J. Krapp DATE: 1923 STYLE: Adamesque The Imperial Theater Interior is an excellent example of the elegant Adamesque style. Its significant architectural features include floral plasterwork bands, flat pilasters with stylized capitals, and Adarnesque friezes including figures holding tragic and comic theatrical masks at the boxes.

Film Center Building ARCHITECT: Ely Jacques Kahn DATE: 1928-29 STYLE: Art Deco The Film Center Building interior design is an example of the Art Deco style. The architect, Ely Jacques Kahn, was one of the city’s most prominent architects working in modernistic styles. The interior incorporates a technique of “woven” plaster wall and ceiling surfaces, and a wide-ranging polychromatic program, and it survives largely intact. The building was built to service the motion picture industry then centered in Times Square to the east and still serves the functions for which it was constructed.

Hotel Astor, 1931. Designed by architects Clinton & Russell, the grand Beaux-Arts hotel was completed in 1904. The hotel was the brainchild of William C. Muschenheim, a German businessman and restaurateur. With the financial backing of the wealthy and real estate successful Waldorf family, he constructed an opulent hotel that had a Louis XV–decorated ballroom among other, lounges, restaurants, and massive roof garden. A 1920s New York Times article said this about the rooftop venue, “There is the open-air dancing floor and the restaurant is conspicuous for dangling ferns and trailing vines. A unique feature of the restaurant is the gabled-glass roof over which flows a miniature Niagara.” The grand hotel was demolished in 1967 and replaced by an office tower (today known as One Astor Plaza).

Martin Beck (now Al Hirshfield) Theatre, November 1935. Seen from down the block, the Martin Beck Theatre opened in 1924 and was designed by G. Albert Lansburgh (a San Fransisco-based theatre architect). Constructed for vaudeville promotor Beck, it had the distinction of being the only theatre in New York that was owned outright without a mortgage (and was the only Broadway theatre built west of Eighth Avenue). The Moorish-inspired theatre was particularly lavish in its design and both its exterior and a section of the interior were designated NYC landmarks in 1987. In 2003 the theatre was renamed for famed American caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.